After the proposal drew public criticism when first presented to the Paradise Irrigation District in October 2012, board members formed an ad hoc committee to investigate the feasibility of a wage increase for Barber.

Per Division 1 Director Ken Hunt, Barber was asked to show how he saved the district money since he was hired in the latter months of 2004. Barber began his list starting in 2005 to the present date and found almost $2 million he felt he saved the district.

The ad hoc committee rolled that number back by eliminating $800,000 for the purchase of the new district building and nixing $15,000 to update the district's safety plan, leaving about $1.125 million specifically attributed to Barber and his skill set. Hunt also explained that Barber had an engineering certification, which can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $144,000.

Hunt said the district is required by law to have someone on staff that is a certified engineer. Without an engineer on staff, Barber said the district would need to outsource day-to-day engineering projects.

Barber makes about $135,200 a year. In October, he suggested an immediate increase to $150,000, an increase to $162,000 on March 1, 2013 and to $175,000 on March 1, 2014. As of 2010, State Controller John Chiang's office listed the district manager's total wages at $152,179 per year.

That includes a base salary of $130,008, $12,720 to cover retirement costs, $11,835 for deferred compensation and $17,870 for health, dental and vision. Chiang's office also listed the district as a 40-employee operation with the average employee salary of $54,733 a year totaling $2,189,332 a year in wages.

Newly elected Division 5 Director Doug Flesher said the board weighing its options. He said Barber is bright, energetic, knowledgeable and has done an excellent job which shows in what he has accomplished since being hired as the district's manager.

Still, Flesher wants to make the right decision.

"We have 10,500 customers and that is the whole source of our income," he said. "We have to calculate what we can afford to pay based on the district's financial status. That's what I'm looking at."

At the close of the meeting, during director's comments, Hunt suggested Barber become a non-contract employee in order to save himself and the district the trouble of haggling over wages. The item was informational and went back to the ad hoc committee for further investigation.

Hunt said the district is performing evaluations in February and may make a decision in March regarding Barber's salary. He said historically, Barber received wage increases on March 1.